The Greek Tradition of the Bridal Shoes

Written by Greek Boston in Greek Wedding Traditions

Are you having a traditional Greek wedding? If so, there’s a lot to consider. You’ll need to make the necessary arrangements with the church and the function hall. You’ll want to choose your koumbaros or koumbara, as well as the rest of your wedding party. Of course, you’ll need to buy a dress, decide on your wedding flowers, and send out the invitations.

You’ll also want to make sure that other important Greek traditions, like giving guests koufeta as a favor, making sure you know the traditional Greek dance that the bridal party does, and making sure the priest has everything he needs in order to perform the ceremony. Have you given any thought to your shoes? If so, you may want to think again. There’s a whole tradition in Greece surrounding them. Here’s more information:

Will the groom deliver the shoes?

In Greece, the groom is responsible for buying he bride her shoes. Elsewhere in the world, this may not be the case. For example, in the United States, the bride or the bride’s family ends up buying the shoes. In fact, the shoes are usually meticulously chosen to perfectly compliment the dress.

However, in Greece, the groom buys the shoes. He delivers them the morning of the wedding with money tucked inside. If he delivers the shoes himself, he will take the time to put them on her feet for her. However, it is perfectly acceptable for someone else to deliver the shoes to the bride on behalf of the groom.

Who will get married next?

Another tradition in Greece related to the bride’s shoes is that the bride’s single attendants will write their names on the bottom. The goal of this tradition is to help determine who will get married next! At the end of the day, the bride will announce who the next person will be. It’s up to her if the name that rubs off first will be the next one, or if it will be the person who’s name rubs off last.

For the bridesmaids, this is both a fun game and serious business. Whether or not people really believe this will result in their own weddings is up for debate. However, just in case it really does work, they adopt a competitive spirit. Some strategically place their names on the portions of the shoe that will see the most or least activity, depending on what the bride decides.

What if you want to choose your own shoes?

If you would like to adopt the tradition, you may be a little concerned that your fiancé won’t choose the best shoes for your dress. So, is there a way that you can get him to buy the shoes you really want? The answer is, you can. What really matters is that he buys them and has them delivered to you on your wedding day with money tucked inside. You could always tell him which shoes you really want. Give him several choices of shoes that you love equally well. That way, he can feel like he has a choice.

This is a fun Greek wedding tradition to adopt. If you want to participate in it, be sure to tell your fiancé what your expectations are. You can even tell him which shoes you want!

Categorized in: Greek Wedding Traditions

This post was written by Greek Boston